


The Drums of the City Rain

by greg-powells-mustache (DorsVenabili)



Category: Quantum Break (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Someone please hug these two, Will tries hard to be a good brother, neurodivergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 03:23:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10549242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorsVenabili/pseuds/greg-powells-mustache
Summary: Snapshots of the Joyce brothers navigating their relationship.





	

It isn’t Jack’s fault that he’s annoying. It’s part of the age group. Will knows this, but... sometimes, he thinks Jack might be extra irritating on purpose.

“You’re supposed to be napping,” he says to the open door. “Why are you in here?”

“Because I couldn’t sleep.”

“Well, you know you’re not supposed to be in my room.” Will pushes back from the desk in his swivel chair and stretches out -- his shoulders unexpectedly sore; how long has he been reading? “Go back to bed, Jack.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“Don’t make me get Mom. You know she won’t be happy with you if she finds out you’re up when you’re not supposed to be.”

“I wanna nap in here.” Jack climbs up on Will’s bed, dragging his stuffed giraffe with him. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Reading a book. Or, I was, anyway.”

“What kind of book?”

“A physics book.”

“What’s physics?”

Will sighs. How do you explain physics to a six-year-old? “...Science.”

“I like science. Are you gonna be a scientist when you grow up, Will?”

He smiles a little at that. “Yeah.”

“With test tubes and stuff?”

“Probably not that kind of scientist.”

“Oh.” Jack frowns, crestfallen, but immediately perks back up. “There’s other kinds of science?”

“Lots of other kinds.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, like chemistry – that’s the test tubes – and astronomy, and engineering....” Will pauses, realizing what his brother’s doing. For a little kid, he’s surprisingly clever sometimes. “– Get down, you’re not sleeping in here. I’m busy.”

“Please, Will? _Pleeeeeeeease?_ ”

Will hazards a glance in the direction of the bed, where Jack’s already made himself comfortable under the heavy blankets, eyes wide.

Of _course_ he wants to nap in here. Because why should Will get even an hour and a half of peace and quiet in this house?

For a moment, he weighs his options. If Jack stays in here, he _might_ take a nap. If he falls asleep, Will gets relative quiet -- Jack’s snoring notwithstanding, but Will can counteract it with headphones. If he kicks Jack out, however, he’ll have to deal with Jack’s tantrum... a nightmare scenario all its own.

_...Damn it._

“Fine,” he says finally. “Just this once, though.”

“Okay.”

Will’s just gotten comfortable and settled into the book when Jack sits up suddenly. “Will?”

“Huh?”

“How come you never talk to me?”

“What do you mean? I’m talking to you right now.”

“But you’re not looking at me. You’re looking at the wall.”

“Yeah. I don’t... I don’t really do eye contact.”

“Why not?”

_Fuck. Not the Questions Game. And why this? I don’t want to talk about this._

“Don’t know,” he answers, hoping that will be enough.

It isn’t.

“Is it because people make you... uncomfortable?” Jack pronounces each syllable of the last word distinctly and carefully, then looks at Will with alarming acuity.

“Yeah. They do.”

“That’s okay. You don’t have to look at me when we talk.” Jack pulls his stuffed giraffe out from under the blankets, setting him on the edge of the bed. “You can talk to Giraffey if you want. So you don’t have to look at the wall all the time.”

“I... I’ll keep that in mind. Now go to sleep, okay?”

“Mmkay.”

Within a minute, Jack’s sound asleep.

“Annoying as hell,” Will mutters to the giraffe.

But as he turns back to his book, he cracks a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Posted in celebration of one year of Quantum Break!


End file.
